


Lost

by Ulqueleh (Ulquii)



Series: Fictober 2019 [14]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Hopeful Ending, Lotor (Voltron) is alive, M/M, Major Character Undeath, Quintessence (Voltron), Quintessence-Sensitive Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:00:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27032326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ulquii/pseuds/Ulqueleh
Summary: But he was desperate. Because what I was looking for, that person whom everyone missed and wanted back, was not there. However, it wasn't as if the place has been empty.It really seemed like a bad joke.“Lotor?”
Relationships: Keith & Lotor (Voltron)
Series: Fictober 2019 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613635
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Lost

It had been difficult: developing those powers, finding a way to project them, learning to control them, and finally using them for that.

He had had his doubts from the beginning, being that he never considered himself as someone connected to his spirit. He preferred to call it instinct. But, after demonstrating power of that level, of that range, there was no way he would keep it to himself.

“Ready, Keith?” Had been the last he'd heard from the comms, before he nodded and closed his eyes, letting his body go with the force of the portal in front of him.

It had been only a few minutes since he had heard Shiro's voice one last time, but the clock on his wrist was slow and he calculated that a few seconds in his reality were several minutes in that lost space between dimensions.

He wasn't scared, since there wasn't really something that could hurt him in that place. After all, the suit he was wearing had been designed to protect him from any kind of threat, be it physical or mental. Furthermore, in his own judgment, it was quite similar to the consciousness of the lions, of Voltron, and indeed, had there been a threat, he could have felt it the moment he entered the portal.

But he was desperate. Because what I was looking for, that person whom everyone missed and wanted back, was not there. However, it wasn't as if the place has been empty.

It really seemed like a bad joke.

“Lotor?”

His hair was disheveled and stained with something unknown, his purple skin was strangely pale, and his blue eyes were lost somewhere in the abyss in front of them.

There was no reaction on his part, probably being too absent from reality.

“Hey, Lotor.”

He took a couple of steps closer, the sound of his feet being muted, and he saw him lift his head slightly, turning a bit to him.

“Who…?”

His voice was scratchy, like he hadn't used it in a long time, and that's when he noticed that his hair was not only tousled, but also cropped.

"Lotor, can you recognize me?" he asked, crouching next to him, his eyes slowly focusing on his face, "Are you okay?"

"Keith…" he murmured with what seemed astonishment, and his hands reached up to him, hesitating halfway, "Is it really you?"

He frowned, confused by the delusional tone, and nodded slowly, seeing relief soften his tired features.

"Keith…" he repeated, his fingers this time holding his face, "Keith."

He froze, not expecting him to really dare to touch him, and although he was about to push him away by mere reflex, he forced himself to stay still, letting him trace the lines of his face with the tips of his fingers.

"It's you," he said again, this time in affirmation, “You’re here.”

He nodded, careful not to be too brusque so as not to scare him. It was strange to see him so fragile, so  susceptible around him. But anyone would go crazy if they had to admire that dark and colorful panorama for years.

"Yes, Lotor," he replied when the former prince stared at him in silent amazement, still incredulous though his fingers continued to touch her skin, “I came to find Allura.”

The touch paused for a second, blue eyes rising to his with something like hurt.

"Oh," he blurted out, removing his hands from his face as if he'd been burned. “Oh.”

He didn't understand why his expression changed from illusioned to hopeless so quickly, but he didn't have time to question it.

“Have you seen her?” he asked, glancing around them to make sure nothing had been missed.

“Oh,” Lotor repeated, lowering his head, “No, she… she disappeared along with my mother.”

His blood ran cold, the same way it had when he woke up that day and remembered the devastating goodbye he had witnessed.

“Oh,” he said this time, “I get it.”

It was not good news. He had gone there to look for it, to get it back. He had been training for months to achieve this.

Lance would be devastated.

"Do you want to come?" he blurted out, watching his eyebrows twitch.

“I… what?” he hesitated, shaking his head slightly.

"It's worse to come back empty-handed," he said with a shrug, not meaning that, although it was true that he had gone there to search for Allura, any survivor of the quintessence, including Lotor, would be better than nothing.

"Is it worse to go back to the one who committed so many atrocities?" Lotor snorted, surprising him with his firm voice, just as he used to hear before they became enemies again, "I don't want your pity, Keith."

"It's not a pity," he clarified quickly, “You are a survivor. I want to help you.”

He was silent for a few seconds, his voice returning to the fragility of the beginning.

“Even after everything I've done?” He asked, self-resentment clear in his tone. “I can't go back, Keith. I can't undo everything I did.”

"Maybe not," he agreed, snorting afterward. But there is always something you can do to make up for it.

Lotor shook his head, hugging himself.

"I can never make it up to you."

"But you must have tried."

That made him look up, his blue eyes now less clouded with delirium and loneliness.

“I...”

"I can't leave you here, Lotor," she confessed looking into his eyes, seeing his surprise. I don't want to leave you here.

Lotor watched him for a few seconds, the glow of his pupils illuminating his entire expression. But doubt kept twisting his brow, making him look down at the ground.

“Lotor,” he called, this time being the one to hold her face to make her see his eyes, “listen to me, please; What you did is already done, you can't help it. But you don't have to punish yourself like that.”

He heard him take a shaky breath, seeing him blink several times in an attempt to understand.

“Come with me,” he continued, insisting, “Come back with me. I can’t allow you to continue tormenting yourself.”

He waited a few seconds, watching his expression go through different feelings, and the last one puzzled him. He never believed possible to see those eyes full of admiration, much less towards him.

The noise of his communicator made him startled, Shiro's voice heard choppy but clear.

“Yes, here I am,” he answered briefly, getting up and looking in the direction from which he had come walking.

“Did you find something?”

He opened his mouth, hesitating, and turned to Lotor, still on the ground.

“I found someone,” he replied, watching him straighten in surprise.

“S-someone? Perhaps…?”

"No," he said before Allura was mentioned, “it's not her, it's...”

He fell silent, giving Lotor another  glance , and sighed offering him his hand.

“Different.”

Lotor was slow to accept his hand, but he eventually did, Shiro's confusion being obvious from his silence.

“Ready to return to your dimension?” he asked with a lopsided smile, watching him hesitate.

"Shouldn't you tell him it's me?" he asked, glancing at the comms, "You know, so they have a cell ready."

He snorted and squeezed his hand.

"What are you talking about?" He doubted, amused, "We always have one ready for you."

And although he thought the joke had gone too far, the small smile that Lotor gave him let him know that everything would be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject) (including the [LLF Comment Builder](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/commentbuilder)), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates responses, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!
> 
> ~
> 
> Come and yell with me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ulqueleh)!


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